Dark brown eggs

[GAhen]

What breed of chickens sould I get if I want dark brown eggs?
Right now I have two ee's and a mixture of light brown egg layers

 

[pawtraitart]

There are several breeds which are supposed to lay dark brown eggs. As I've found out, however, your chances of getting a dark brown egg of note from a large hatchery hen are not very good. Your best bet is to buy some hatching eggs if you have an incubator or broody hen. Your best bet are Welsummers or Marans. I'm interested in Welsummers, myself.

 

[serendipity22]

I ordered cuckoo marans from Meyers Hatchery and although their eggs aren't as dark as 'pure bred' marans, they are definitely darker than my other eggs. They're quite pretty and add a nice dimension to the egg basket.

However, I am working on getting better birds to get darker eggs.

 

[Heidi]

I've been wanting to purchase Welsummer's also and I just did via e-mail from a breeder in Owosso. I pick them up this coming Saturday. They are around 3 months old. I can't wait!

 

[jimnjay]

Another breed that you can find eggs for on Eggbid is Penedescenca. They are a breed from Spain and lay extreamely dark eggs. They are not a calm as the Welsummers but beautiful chickens. Barnvelders are also good layers of dark eggs but hard to find. The ones in the US are said not to be really dark chocolate like in Europe. They are also a very nice calm breed.

 

[davecash]

cochin?

 

[Blondie]

I have a variety of "rainbow layers" from McMurray Hatchery. When they started laying in the middle of July every once in a while I would get a dark brown egg.

I haven't seen one in at least 3 or 4 weeks. Do their eggs change color as they get older?

 

[speckledhen]

As they get further toward their molt, their eggs will lighten up. After a break from egglaying, they will darken again, most likely. I have one Barred Rock that lays an egg every bit as dark as most hatchery Cuckoo Marans, when she is early in her cycle. The same for one of my RIR hens, but naturally, that is hit and miss. One of my RIR's has always laid an almost white egg-someone called it porcelain bisque and it has never changed.

 

[mdbucks]

Quote:
So my cuckoo maran is not a real Maran?? What is it then?? I thought it was something like a duck but wasnt sure.

 

[greyfields]

A cuckoo Maran is certainly a real Maran. The cuckoo refers to the black & white pattern on their feathers. Must "barred rocks" you see are actually cuckoo colored. I can't think of all the colors Marans come in, but I have a relative with the "Gold Maran". The roos are some of the prettiest birds I've ever seen.

There are two distinct strains of Marans. The original is the French and the hens have a row of feathers down their legs. The English version does not have the leg feathers. Both lay dark brown eggs.

My guess is that the hatcheries in the USA got ahold of Marans and started outcrossing them to get better performance. True Marans are a bit notorious for going broodey. If they were outcrossed, then yes, that could cause a gradual lightening of the eggs from the orginal Marans.